Back then, all I knew about Keiser was that heco-founded Chicago-based Recycled PaperGreetings, a highly successful greet-ing card company, and proba-bly was financially securemany times over.

Anyway, it was a fall dayand when we arrived at theclub, we were informed thatthere weren’t any caddies avail-able. The season was windingdown. I thought we would justride. I didn’t figure Keiser would bethe kind to want to pull his bag in acart, let alone carry it.

So imagine my surprise whenKeiser insisted he was up for walking.Right then and there, he threw his bagover his shoulder and marched downthe first fairway.

It was at that point that I knewKeiser was different. When I think ofthe essence of Bandon Dunes inOregon and its astonishing success, Ialways go back to that round of golfwe played at the Merit Club.

By Ed Sherman

Golfers have flocked to the Pacific Northwest to experience Mike Keiser's vision of what golf ought to be.

ExceedingExpectations

22 CHICAGO D ISTR ICT GOLFER

Ifirst met Mike Keiser about 10 years ago. We were pairedtogether in an outing at the Merit Club.

Looking for the perfect propertyGolf is a simple game. Hit the ball, find it and hit the ball

again. That’s the way the Scots did it back in the 17th century.And that’s how Keiser does it in the 21st century.

When Keiser set out to build Bandon Dunes, located fourhours from Portland on the coast of Oregon, he wasn’t lookingto construct a mega resort where the focus would be on ameni-ties like a spa and a swimming pool with a waterfall. None ofthat stuff interested Keiser.

Keiser’s goal was simple: He wanted to create a pure golfexperience on an incredible piece of property. He wanted tobuild a memorable ode to the game.

On the surface, none of his plan made sense. He wanted tobuild a links course on a piece of land covered with impen-etrable, prickly gorse. His location would be in a remote, eco-nomically challenged town, seemingly closer to oblivion than

After Bandon Dunes opened to rave reviews, Keiser addedPacific Dunes (above, 17th hole) and then Bandon Trails.

SCOTT A. MILLER/CDGA

CO

UR

TES

Y K

EM

PE

RS

PO

RTS

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 23

24 WWW.C D G A . O R G

Portland. The course also would be walking only in an agewhen carts increasingly have become a standard mode oftransportation for 18 holes.

And then to top it off, he chose a then 27-year old architectwhose sparse résumé featured designing only one modestcourse in that golf hot spot, Katmandu.

“A lot of people thought he was nuts,” said Julie Miller, exec-utive director of the Bandon Chamber of Commerce. “It was abig gorse field. Why would anyone want to build a golf coursein that wasteland?”

What they didn’t see, or what they couldn’t understand,was Keiser’s vision. He saw a golden opportunity under allthat gorse. Once he spotted a chance to build something spe-cial, he was determined to see it through.

The end result has become one of the biggest and mostunlikely success sto-ries in golf. Keiser’sBandon Dunes now ismentioned in thesame breath as PebbleBeach, Pinehurst andeven the legendarylinks of Scotland andIreland, as one of thetop don’t-miss golfdestinations in theworld.

The facility now hasthree courses. BandonDunes opened to ravereviews in 1999. Keiserthen went ahead andbuilt Pacific Dunes in2001. That course,with its dramatic sandformations along withocean views, even got higher marks from the critics.

Then last year, Keiser opened Bandon Trails. The new 18,built away from the ocean, has a little bit of everything: it startsand ends with the sand dunes, and in between, it meandersthrough trees and rivers with numerous elevation changes.Even before Bandon Trails opened, it was a smash hit: 20,000golfers had reserved starting times.

That speaks volumes to Bandon’s reputation. To get toBandon, it isn’t as simple as jumping on a plane. Most golfersfly into Portland and make the long drive. The place isn’t easyto find even for those who live in Oregon.

“Golfers are like hunters,” Keiser said. “They hunt golfcourses. Wherever the game is, they go there. As soon as theyread that it’s a legitimate links course, there were so manyhunters who said, ‘I’ve got to get there.’ ”

Keiser is one of those hunters, although not in the typicalsense. As a golfer, he is not a top player with a pedigree.Actually, he employs the lashing swing of a 12 handicapper.He is extremely humble, even self-effacing, about his ability.

Nevertheless, Keiser always has been a passionate golfer,playing regularly at various clubs throughout the Chicago

area. He never expected to do any more with the game thanwalk to the first tee.

An introduction to the gameRaised in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, he moved to Chicago in

1971 after a stint in the Navy. With his college roommate, PhilFriedmann, he founded a company that now sells more than100 million greeting cards per year.

Keiser got into the golf business on a fluke. After pur-chasing a piece of property in New Buffalo, Mich., during the’80s, he wanted to make sure nobody would be able to develop the adjacent land. So Keiser bought the parcel himselfand decided to build a nine-hole course. The end productbecame the Dunes Club, a CDGA member club and a funtrack that draws comparison to the revered Pine Valley Golf

Club in southernNew Jersey.

The experiencegave Keiser thehunger to do a much larger project.

“The next coursewas going to be anextension of myhobby,” Keiser said.

Keiser did not sim-ply want to build anyold golf course. Thegame’s roots appealto him, so he soughtto follow in the tradi-tion of the great linkscourses of Scotlandand Ireland. He wentin search of raw,coastal landscapes

that featured a lot of sand.“It’s not surprising that all the great courses are built on

water and sand,” Keiser said. “Golf on those settingsimproves nature.”

There aren’t many pieces of land like that in the U.S., butKeiser’s search eventually took him to Bandon in 1990. Theparcel had been on the market for four years.

Covered with dunes and gorse, it had only one smallpatch that allowed access to the inside of the property. Anyfirst-time visitor to Bandon tries to imagine what it must havebeen like, looking out over nothing but acres of gorse.

What made him believe that he could build a golf coursethere, let alone three? And this was not an experiencedcourse developer here. Remember, all Keiser had done previ-ously was his nine-hole course.

Some how, some way, Keiser knew. He just knew.“I played enough golf in Scotland and Ireland to know

this land was really good,” Keiser said. “I knew that with1,200 acres of land, I’d have at least one golf course downthere.”

Others weren’t convinced. Keiser was told he should aban-

JOH

N M

UM

ME

RT/U

SG

A

Keiser welcomed the 2006 Curtis Cup toBandon Dunes, and more top-flight amateurcompetition is on the way.

don the remote area and look for a piece of property that couldattract more people.

Keiser went with his heart.“I didn’t need to spend $50,000 on a market study to be

told I was stupid,” Keiser said. “This was somewhere betweenspeculative investment and total folly.”

Keiser then even went more off the board. Instead of hiringan established architect, he hired David McLay Kidd, a new-comer who was just starting his design business.

Kidd’s main attribute in Keiser’s eyes was that he wasScottish. He couldn’t see bringing in an American to do a truelinks-style course.

Kidd still wonders why he was picked. It changed his life, ashe married a woman from Oregon and still maintains a homethere.

“To this day, I still don’t know what Mike saw in me,” Kiddsaid. “I guess he wanted someone with the enthusiasm of aguy in his 20s. I was running 50 ideas a day by Mike.”

One of Kidd’s ideas was to be subtle with the design. Keiserwanted just the opposite.

“Mike said, ‘I’d rather have 18 crescendos,’ ” Kidd stated.“Now I can see he was right.”

Ultimately, Kidd and subsequent architects Tom Doak(Pacific Dunes) and Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore (BandonTrails) all adhered to Keiser’s main priority.

The essence of all the projects always has been golf first,

with everything else coming in a distant second.It all worked because Keiser’s ultimate priority wasn’t to

maximize profits. And by doing so, the courses have becomewildly successful.

“What strikes me is how loyal he was to his vision,” saidJosh Lesnik, who served as Bandon’s first general manager andnow is the president of KemperSports Management. “Heallowed great golf to be the driver of every discussion. He onlycares about one thing: How can this be the best place for thegolfer? It sounds overly simple, but that’s what it was.”

Build it and they will comeWhen the course opened in 1999, Keiser and Lesnik

thought they would be lucky if Bandon did nearly 12,000rounds the first year.

“We weren’t sure if people would come,” Keiser said. Oh, they came. The course did nearly 30,000 rounds. And

they’re still coming. The area still is buzzing about the dayMichael Jordan and Arnold Palmer both arrived in privatejets to check out the layout.

What they found are courses that seemingly features one“wow” hole after another. On many holes on each course,there are numerous views of the Pacific with its 10-12-footwaves crashing in the distance. There always seems to beanother stunning vista just around the corner.

“It is worth every penny to get there,” remarked Ron Whitten,

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 25

GET MORE DISTANCEFROM YOUR 2007 CDGA MEMBERSHIP

Your Name Here

GO PLATINUMEnjoy special benefits

throughout the 2007 season.

SIGN UP NOW!

Preferred green fees at participating courses, plus Loyalty Points, a Golfweeksubscription and other special benefits

ORDER NOW AT:www.cdga.org

Call 630-685-2312

CH ICAGO'S MOSTTECHNOLOG ICALLY ADVANCEDGOLF PERFORMANCE CENTER

The Oaks of Oak Brook Center1600 West 16th Street TEL: 630.572.9700

www.athletico.com

Proud provider of rehabilitation,

fitness and performance for

Indoor Putting and Short Game Practice GreensFive Hitting Bays for full swing trainingGolf-specific training circuitsVector Launch MonitorDemo clubs and range ballsComplimentary Injury ScreeningsPrivate studio for advanced diagnostics and one-on-one trainingFunctional training space for plyometric, core training, and strength and cardiovascular equipmentPhysical, Occupational, and Massage TherapyGolf/Fitness MembershipFull-Service Locker RoomsYear-Round Golf Fitness

*Mention this ad and receive a ONE DAY PASS to AthletiCo’s Golf Performance Center.

amenities

In June of 1986, Mike decided it was time to fill another gap in his golf-ing education. He and [wife] Lindy were making a trip to London to visitthe Odgens, former neighbors in Lincoln Park, and Mike and Chris Ogden

decided to take the opportunity to schedule several rounds of links golf.

Chris, at the time the London bureau chief for Time magazine, made the

arrangements himself, and he did it the old-fashioned way, by writing to the

secretaries of the clubs where he wanted to make tee times. This was in the

days before tour operators made all the arrangements and shuttled vanloads

of visiting golfers around Scotland and Ireland. The Scottish clubs were slow

to reply to Ogden, and very fussy in their requirements. The Irish clubs were

far more welcoming: Basically, they said come whenever you like. And so,

after a few days in London, Mike and Chris caught a plane to Northern

Ireland and began their golf adventure at Royal County Down. On this leg of

the journey, they were a twosome; later they would be joined by Chris’s

father, Mike, and his son, another Mike. The foursome would be recorded in

memory as Three Mikes and a Chris.

At Royal County Down, Mike and Chris got their first taste of the condi-

tions that would prevail throughout the trip. Irish golf hadn’t yet been dis-

covered, and the green fees were modest—usually about 10 punts, or Irish

pounds, as best Chris can recall. The courses were mostly empty until the

late afternoon, when locals stole out for a round after work. Most of the

courses Chris had arranged to play were seaside courses, and they had a

wild, rugged look; they weren’t petted and groomed and manicured like

American courses. Chris had arranged for caddies, who usually turned out to

be craggy-faced, tweed-clad, weather-beaten, and hawk-eyed. These

Irishmen knew their golf and quickly got on a first-name basis with their

American clients. On the first day, after playing 36 holes and finally coming

off the course in the long Irish twilight, Chris and Mike sank happily into

deep chairs in the clubhouse at Royal County Down, wet their whistles, and

dined on pork roast and cracklin’ that was served up by an ancient barman.

Mike was in heaven. He loved the simplicity and grandeur of the golf

courses and the complete lack of pretension in all the other arrangements.

The clubhouses were modest, the food was plain, the hotels were drafty, the

weather was the usual Irish mix of rain and mist with occasional peeks of

sunshine, but the golf was splendid. The Irish were informal and welcoming

and the whole environment of the game was new, strange and invigorating.

One measure of how much Mike and Chris had come under the spell of the

links was that they didn’t much care for Killarney, in the Republic of Ireland,

finding that the Killarney golf courses, set in the romantic scenery of lake

and mountains, felt too much like American parkland courses.

By this point in the trip, the other two Mikes had joined them, and the

foursome set off for Ballybunion. . . . But the New Course designed by Robert

Trent Jones had recently opened, and the Old Course had won the seal of

approval from eminent golf writer Herbert Warren Wind—he described that

Ballybunion was “nothing less than the finest seaside links I have ever

seen”—and Tom Watson, who endorsed it by making Ballybunion the course

where he practiced for the British Open. The three Mikes and Chris were

aware that they were in for something special when they stepped up to the

first tee and found that the local cemetery juts into the right side of the fair-

way. It is simply the first signal that Ballybunion is a thing absolutely unto

itself, and by the time they reached the

7th hole . . . on a cliff edge high above the

Atlantic, they were giddy with pleasure.

They played both courses that day.

They’d been warned that the New Course,

now called the Cashen Course, was

extremely difficult, and it was; they lost so

many balls that they had to send a caddy back to the clubhouse to purchase

more ammo so that they could complete the round. The rain was coming

down, hard at times, but they were having a blast as they tried to play across

the towering dunes.

The following day they played the Old Course again, and Mike Ogden,

Chris’s father, announced when they finished the round that his golf career

had ended. “I’ve just played the best course in the world,” he said, “and

that’s it. I’m going to retire now.” He meant it. He continued the trip, and

walked the courses as the others played, but he gave his clubs to his son,

Chris. He never played another round of golf.

For Mike Keiser, that Irish trip had been inspirational. “Our golf was

absolutely horrendous, but it didn’t matter. It was still a wonderful trip. I’ll

never forget how I felt when we got to Ballybunion and I saw those

unbelievable dunes, and those holes perched on the cliffs over the ocean,

and I thought, Wow! This wasn’t just a different kind of golf. It was a

different kind of experience.”

The whole trip had been mind-expanding. It had given Mike a new

perspective on the game, and it had completed the first phase of his educa-

tion in golf architecture, taking him all the way back to the beginning. He’d

worked backward, from the postmodern and modern period, through the

classic, and now he’s made the first of what would soon be many trips to the

linksland of the British Isles. Somehow, though the bunkers were different,

the grass was different, and the style of play was different, Mike felt at home

on these courses. On the treeless, seaside courses, the wind was always

blowing, and a golfer had to invent shots to advance the ball over the

shaggy dunes and the wild, heaving fairways. Mike liked the challenge of

these shots. He liked the companionship of the caddies and the fact that the

game was always played on foot. He liked the fact that the game was played

swiftly, the pace Mike prefers. “I felt was though I was discovering a differ-

ent game, even though it’s a very old game. Links golf is where it all started.

They’ve been playing golf in Ireland and Scotland for hundreds of years—

and I asked myself, what makes those courses hold up today? They’re not

just museum pieces. They’re still fun and exciting to play, a lot more fun and

exciting than most modern courses.

Mike Keiser isn’t one to back away from big ideas, and that first Irish

trip planted the seed of an audacious dream. He wasn’t prepared to

announce that he was going to build the American Ballybunion, but the

thought of links golf began to fuse with his preference for classic

American courses—courses that were built by hand, courses whose

individuality held up over time, courses that had the gamy, wild flavor of

their natural surroundings.

Mike Keiser was out of step with the spirit of the 1980s, and he knew

it. He wanted to build a “throwback” course, and he wanted to build it in the

same involved, hands-on fashion as his hero, George Crump.

The Birth of an IdeaIn Ireland, Mike Keiser received an introduction to linksgolf and began to imagine the kind of course he’d build.The following is an excerpt from Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes

26 CHICAGO D ISTR ICT GOLFER

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006 27

PLAY A SLEEVE OF VEGAS’ FINEST

ike a sleeve of your favorite golf balls, you can depend on the consistencyand quality of these three courses. And with some of the most competitive ratesin Las Vegas, why not buy a dozen? Whether you’re tempting the “DevilsTriangle” at The Legacy or playing 36 holes at Angel Park, we have the perfectmatch for your game. And we’re proud to announce the opening of Vegas’ hottestnew golf club that is quickly moving up the “must play” list – Aliante GolfClub. All three clubs offer an extraordinary golf experience, in addition to professionalcoordination of group golf events, corporate outings, weddings and receptions.

Book on-line at any of the clubs’ official websitesto receive the BEST RESORT RATE GUARANTEED!

L

OB SPORTS MANAGEMENT SINCE 1972 WWW.OBSPORTS.COM

(877) 399.4888www.aliantegolf.com

(888) 851.4114 www.angelpark.com

(888) 851.4114www.thelegacygc.com

“Best new golf course in Las Vegas”- Vegas Golfer

Las Vegas’ most complete golf experience

“Top 10 you can play inNevada” - Golf Digest

who writes about golf course architecturefor Golf Digest. “If a golfer loves golf, heowes it to himself to go to Bandon Dunes.It’s a mecca, like St. Andrews. Everybodyneeds to make the trek.”

For all Keiser has accomplished, he’snot done. There will be a fourth courseat the Bandon property, currentlyscheduled to open in 2010, and per-haps even more after that. He also isinvolved in a development in Australiaand has scouted Scotland and Irelandto build a course there.

“I’m at my happiest when I’m plan-ning a golf course,” Keiser said. “Who’sgoing to be the architect? What type ofcourse do we want to build? Seeing thewhole process evolve. That’s what I love.”

Experiencing ‘pure’ golfIn March 2005, Keiser had a group

going to Bandon and asked if I would beinterested in joining him. Needless tosay, I jumped at the opportunity.

We arrived late in the morning andquickly went out to play Bandon Trails.The course wasn’t officially open yet, butthere was enough in place to get a sensethat it would be terrific. It was a pure golfexperience with several terrific holes.

That afternoon, we played nine holeson Bandon Dunes, but the fog was sothick, no one could see a thing. Oh well,there’s always tomorrow, I thought.

The following morning we playedPacific Dunes. The vistas over the waterand the towering dunes were spectacular.I never had seen anything like it on anAmerican course.

After our round, I wanted to check outthe town. I learned that thanks to Keiser’scourses, housing prices in Bandon hadrisen 10-fold since the resort opened.

My lasting memory was playing a cou-ple of rounds at Bandon with Keiser. I’mnot sure I’ve been with many players whoget more out of the experience. He revelsin the surroundings, the nature, the goodshots, the tricky shots and even the badshots. He is totally immersed in the gameand all it has to offer.

Seeing it up close helped me under-stand why Bandon Dunes indeed is aMecca. It is filled with Keiser’s passion forthe game; how could it not be great?

Ed Sherman covers golf for the ChicagoTribune.